


Notes from the Desert (3) A New Normal

by longhairshortfuse



Series: Carlos's Secret Diary [44]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Gen, Scientist Carlos (Welcome to Night Vale), minor spoilers for ep54
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2014-09-15
Packaged: 2018-02-17 13:25:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2311226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/longhairshortfuse/pseuds/longhairshortfuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Is Carlos getting so used to his desert that he likes it there?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Notes from the Desert (3) A New Normal

I have been so busy with science recently that I totally forgot to record my diary. It has been so long since I got so involved with my work in that way. It feels good to know that I can study the odd phenomena here and become so wrapped up that I forget where I was before. Almost.

A few weeks ago I called Cecil and he was starting his show. He said to wait and asked would I talk about the desert to his listeners. I really wanted to talk to him, I missed him so much, so I said yes and we did most of the show together. It was nice, to share something like that. I think I talked a lot more than usual, being stranded here has actually given me more confidence. I guess that's because there is usually nobody else to talk to. I mean, there's Doug and his partner and the masked army but they're not always here and they're often busy. And I don't think they understand a lot of what I am doing at times.

I still have not figured out what the rumbling was, but it stopped not long after I ended my calls to Cecil. The lighthouse still is not blinking like it used to, and that still worries me although there seems to be no immediate danger.

This desert is so interesting. I think there is more to study here than in Night Vale, and that's saying a lot. If the team was here I could keep them busy for years analysing the light and the sounds and excavating the canyon and articulating the weird skeletons I found. And studying why I don't seem to need food or water or sleep although my pulse is steady and I breathe so I must be alive. I did have a few doubts for a while.

I should call Cecil again. I'm so excited by all the unpredictable things that happen here that might only be unpredictable because I don't understand them yet. That is what I want to do. Observe, hypothesise, predict, observe, refine, so much science! I barely know where to begin at times and I have totally lost track of time. I have not felt this motivated for so long. My medication ran out ages ago, I only had a few days' worth in my pocket when I entered the house that does not exist and the side effects of stopping like that were something awful, but after a couple of really difficult weeks I think I got a lot better. I am not recommending the desert as a cure for depression but perhaps the way this place affects my body has helped my brain chemistry recover. That's something else I would like to study.

I should call Cecil and let him know that I'm fine but Doug said he would take me to the top of the mountain. He said there were some things I would find interesting up there in the lighthouse and that he didn't want to spoil the surprise. He's waiting for me, oh and there's Alisha too, so I better not keep them waiting. I can call Cecil from the top. I have to find a way to tell him that I have not looked for a door yet. In all this infinite collection of instants that we perceive as the passage of time, I have not found any spare to search. I do miss him, and I love him, but being here is so amazing that I don't want to miss out on anything. He has Night Vale and friends and family to take care of him. I am sure he doesn't need me.

I am beginning to think that doing science alone in this desert makes me happy. And somehow that makes me a little sad.

**Author's Note:**

> It just sounds to me like Carlos doesn't want to go home.


End file.
